Chapter 31

I leave the station with my mom and can see she’s about to explode with questions. But she believes me, and so does Sam. I’m not totally sure about Officer Ricky, but I think she’s on my side. She certainly seemed suspicious of my friends.

Mom drives us home, firing questions off one after the other.

I repeat everything I said with Sam and Officer Ricky, not wanting to give her too much yet because she’ll only turn around and demand I tell the rest.

It’s not time yet. The information has to trickle out when I need it to.

She lets me go to my room when we get in, and she goes to make dinner.

The first thing I do is call Rhett and fill him in.

“So, you’re not saying anything about the car dare yet?”

“No, that’ll get out soon enough now that the cops are asking around. I need it to seem like I’m too scared to say anything. I’ll crack later.”

“What do I do? They asked me about Ruthie, but it was a quick chat. I think my parents intimidated them a bit.” He chuckles. “What do I say about the dare?”

“When the time comes, just say that you did set Jesse’s dare.”

“And you didn’t want to do it but went along. I’ll tell them that Jesse said he could drop you off on the way.”

“Thanks, Rhett.”

“I’ve got your back.”

“Same.”

“Which one of them do you think it was who dropped you in it?”

I turn my nose up. “Luce. She texted me asking if I was home. I thought it was weird because she hasn’t spoken to me for ages unless I initiated it. I just don’t know why now. Why risk saying anything at all?”

“They must feel confident that they can make you take the fall.”

“That makes me nervous, but we’ve done enough.”

“Are you certain?”

“I’ve thought of everything. How was the gossip after I left school?”

He chuckles. “I’m sure you can imagine.”

“I haven’t been online yet.”

“Steer clear. I’m working on it.”

“You have enough influence to stop people from writing crap on my page.”

“You know it.”

I can’t see how that’s possible, but I do appreciate the thought. No one is going to care much about what Rhett says or does anymore. High school is over.

After a rather awkward dinner with my parents, both grilling me on the situation with my friends and threatening to call their parents, I’m finally allowed to go to bed. It’s only when I’m safely under the covers that I check online, heading straight for the articles about today rather than what my peers are saying.

I honestly couldn’t care less what they think anyway. Not now.

Eighteen-year-old Marley Croft was picked up at home by a patrol car and two officers in line with the murder of Arthur Nelson, who was found on June2. The teen was later released without charge. A source reports that MissCroft is the first person of interest related to Mr.Nelson. The question remains if his death is linked to the murder of Ruthie Marx, who was found on the morning of June6.

Okay, that wasn’t too bad. Another site is reporting something similar, both stating that I’m not facing charges and was released after answering some questions.

It’s definitely only a matter of time before someone squeals about the dare. I would prefer it to be sooner so I can put the second part of my plan into action and really get this thing going, but I can work with whatever.

Friday, June9

My parents left for work at five a.m. after ordering me to stay home for a couple of days. There’s a media storm going off. I know that my friends have been questioned, but arrests take time.

I hope the cops hurry up and collect evidence.

They’re just giving them time to build their own case.

My parents will be checking in on their breaks and watching the doorbell to see if I’ve left. It’s a senior ditch day, so I have a long weekend.

It’s super easy to go around the back and avoid the camera. I use it when I want them to think I’m home.

I turn on the TV and watch the local news station with a loaded bowl of Fruity Pebbles. It doesn’t take long to hear Ruthie’s and Arthur’s names, but so far, mine is kept out of it since it was just questions.

There is some speculation that Ruthie’s family wanted to buy Arthur’s land. But that doesn’t account for why she was murdered, does it? George is the only Nelson left, and he wasn’t in any position to push anyone out of windows.

It’s embarrassing to listen to residents’ thoughtless theories.

I don’t want Ruthie’s family or Rhett’s to go down for this. It has to be Jesse. He’s the one who started all this. He’s the one who stole my boyfriend and best friend.

I hate all of them now, but that’s so not the point.

u ok?

What the hell do I say to that? My texts might be monitored, so I need to be careful. Has he not been questioned?

everything is fine. I promise.

you sure? You were at the station! We were too

They were and now they’re out. That must mean Sam hasn’t told them it was me dropping them in it. What game is he playing? I need to calm down. It hasn’t been that long.

Patience.

it’s fine. Pls tell Jesse I took care of it.

he’s pretty stressed about it

I know we’re not together but pls help me out. I swear it’s fine now. Tell Jesse that.

I will

Rolling my eyes, I put my phone down and shovel another heaping spoonful of cereal in my mouth. Atlas is such an idiot. How have I never realized that before? I must’ve been blinded by the pretty face.

I do want to contact Luce and see if I can break her, but I know that wouldn’t be smart. I have to keep my distance from them all, make it seem like I’m scared of them.

I check back on my texts again and have nothing inconspicuous the night of the accident, just the “love u” text from Atlas. Not unusual.

Jesse’s messages started a few days after. My timeline is good and will support the being-with-George-until-the-early-hours story.

Rhett and I need to keep our distance now. We’ve already been seen together too much at school. I won’t be able to pretend that he was being his usual moody self if we’re seen outside of school too.

This part is the worst, sitting here and hoping things happen the way I need them to. I want to push things along so it’s over and I’m in the clear. That’s the mistake that so many people make. I won’t be following that path. I can be patient.

By midday I’m going out of my mind, so I let myself out the back door and pull my baseball cap down over my eyes as I walk toward Arthur’s house.

I debated going back to see George, but I don’t know how that will look, since I’m about to use him as my alibi, but we’ve been calling using my old phone. My ex-friends are going to heavily deny that they dropped me off, if they eventually admit to the truth and try to take me down with them.

I stop and step back into the trees as I spot forensics and a cop car outside Arthur’s. Placing my hand over my badge, attached to my T-shirt, I smile. They’re looking for Luce’s. They must be.

Walking on, I head through the forest and past the creek. No one is here today, which is weird, particularly now that there’s a lot of gossip. They must all be somewhere else, spreading their theories. I haven’t bothered checking because I’m not interested in the narrative that I killed Arthur.

My phone rings as I approach the middle of the forest. Rhett.

“Hi.”

“Marley, Jesse is near you! I’m on my way, but you need to watchout.”

“What?” I hiss.

“It’s going off with the cops.”

I spin around. “I can’t see him,” I mutter.

“You will soon.” I hear his car door slam. “His car is parked on the edge of the forest. Listen, Martha went to the cops about the dare. I don’t know what Jesse knows, but it’s convenient timing, right? I saw Atlas flying down the road.”

“Where was he going?” I ask, picking up my pace and watching over my shoulder. I don’t hear footsteps, but the ground is no longer as crunchy as it was.

“I’m not certain, but he was going in the direction of Jesse’s house.”

“You think Atlas knows what’s going on?”

“I’d say so. Where are you going?”

“I’m going into town.”

Just need to get there before Jesse catches up to me. I’m confident that I can outsmart him; I’m not confident that I can outpowerhim.

“You’re cutting across, so you’ll come out by the grocery store?”

“Yeah.”

I’m so freaking relieved that Rhett knows the mountain as well as I do.

“I’ll be waiting there.”

“Where is he?” I ask, my heart hammering as I break into a jog. My feet stamp clumsily as I try to focus on listening to Rhett and listening for Jesse while getting out of this forest alive.

If Jesse catches up to me, I don’t know what he will do.

Actually, I do know, and that scares the crap out of me.

He’s coming for me.

My stomach squeezes in anticipation. I can’t see him, but I can feel that he’s close. I fumble with my phone, ending the call, knowing it’ll slow me down, but I don’t think I can outrun him for long anyway.

I can see the edge of the forest ahead, the daylight breaking through the leaves. Panting, I push myself until my quads burn and my lungs feel like they’ve been punctured.

I dodge a tree, slowing for a second to dart between two so I avoid the dip in the ground. I don’t make it past the tree because Jesse’s hand grips my hair and I’m yanked backward.

Screaming, I land heavily on the ground, the air getting knocked from my lungs. My phone drops to the ground, and I cough and claw at his hand.

“Don’t even think about it!” he spits, dropping his knees into my thighs.

“Get off me!” I shout, scratching at the exposed skin on his forearms. If he’s going to kill me, he’s going to leave a lot of DNA behind.

“What have you done?” he growls. “What have you done?”

I try to kick my legs to throw him off balance, but he doesn’t budge, his knees digging into my muscles so hard that I start to lose feeling in them.

“Jesse, get the hell off me!”

“You think you’re so smart. What are you going to do now, huh? I’ve got you.” He leans forward, and his knees dig harder into my thighs. I grit my teeth to stop myself from screaming out in pain. I’m not giving him the satisfaction.

His forearm presses against my collarbone. “You’re setting us up.”

“You’re insane. Get off me!”

“The cops are at my fucking house! Why is that?”

The pain in my legs intensifies to the point I think I might throw up. “Martha told them about the dare. Jesse, move!”

I shove his chest and finally manage to throw him off just enough to get some relief for my legs. His knees slide to the side, still pinning me to the damp ground, but at least the pain decreases.

I wiggle my toes, trying to get the feeling back into my legs.

“Tell me what you did,” he spits.

Hurry up, Rhett.

Shaking my head, I say, “Let’s talk about what you’ve done. The cops had me at the station, Jesse! Which one of you did that? Why would you lie about me?”

He narrows his eyes. “You’re the one who wanted to squeal.”

“You’re not making any sense. Let me go! I wouldn’t have said anything, I swear.”

“Stop lying!” he spits. “We couldn’t because you took that goddam badge. Why?” he growls.

“What the hell are you talking about? Help!” I scream.

“No one’s here, so scream all you like.”

“I told you I’d keep quiet. You’re hurting me! Jesse, get off. Please, I’ll do whatever you want.” I suck in a ragged breath. “Don’t kill me.”

“Shut up! Just shut up, Marley. You’re ruining everything.”

“I haven’t been anything. Please let me go. Where are the others? Do they know you’re doing this? God, did you kill Ruthie?”

“Shut up!”

I scream and twist again, frantically trying to get away, but he’s far too strong.

“Hey, get off her!”

Jesse’s jaw drops, and he looks up just as Rhett tackles him, throwing all his weight into Jesse’s chest. They both thump to the ground beside me. Rhett throws a punch, connecting with a sickening thud to Jesse’s cheek.

“No!” I shout. “Rhett, don’t! Let’s go!” I search the ground and find my phone. Shoving it into my pocket, I test my balance by getting to my feet. My legs tremble, but I stay upright. “Rhett!”

He lands another punch, this one to the side of Jesse’s head, and his eye almost instantly begins to swell.

“Rhett, I need to get out of here.”

He looks up at that, letting go of Jesse’s shirt with the hand that was holding him down.

“Did he hurt you?” he asks as Jesse rolls onto his side, groaning.

“I-I’m going to be fine. I can stand. We need to go before he gets back up, Rhett, he’s dangerous. You don’t know what he’s capable of.”

Rhett frowns but I tug him hard. He follows, and together we run out of the forest.

“What did he do?” Rhett asks as we reach his car.

I get in and slam the door, my hands trembling from the adrenaline.

“Marley?” he prompts, starting the engine.

“Um…he pulled me down by my hair, knelt on my legs so I couldn’t move. God, that hurt so bad, I wasn’t sure if I’d be able to run if I got away from him.” I fiddle with my phone. “Rhett, he was insane. He knows what I’ve been doing. I don’t think he knows you were helping me, though. We should try to keep it that way.”

“I just showed up and punched him in the face, Marley. I think he’s going to know.”

Damn it, he’s right.

“We can say you were hiking and heard me scream. We really should try to keep you out of this.”

He nods. “I mean, we can try, but I don’t think it’s going to work. Take a look up ahead.”

“Oh crap.”

In my driveway is my mom’s car…and a police cruiser.